Sarawak all set for 2030 developed state status, says CM

KUCHING: Sarawak will strive to develop its talents and infrastructure towards achieving its vision of becoming a developed state by 2030.

In stating this assurance, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg points out that the Sarawak government has put in place the necessary infrastructure, with more initiatives to follow, towards attaining this goal.

The chief minister, who is also the chairman of Sarawak’s ruling coalition Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), says his administration aspires to develop smart cities in Sarawak, besides working on bridging the development gap between the urban and rural areas.

“Sarawak targets 2030 to become a developed state. That is the vision we have. Along the way, we have to prepare ourselves including the injection of capital, upgrading our infrastructure and developing our talents and rural areas.

“We want to develop smart cities where everything is done smartly – having big data and central server, where people can have access to information through broadband with 5G connectivity,” Abang Johari spoke in closing the ‘Second Asia Leadership Forum Malaysia’ hosted by the Centre for Asia Leadership at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) yesterday.

The chief minister said the to-be-expected 5G connectivity would come with real-time speed, and the waiting time of under three seconds.

He opined that Sarawak could even utilise the 5G service to mitigate crimes and ‘organise ways to build our city’.

Towards this end, he said Sarawak would require more experts including data analysts and cyber security specialists.

“Not only do we need more experts in technology but our leaders of tomorrow including myself (as the present leader) need to be technology-savvy; otherwise leaders would not be compatible with their followers.

“If you do not know anything about technology, you would feel displaced in this changing environment,” he said.

On leadership, Abang Johari said the traits of a leader mattered as the leader would need to have a vision and then work on how to translate the vision into something that would benefit the target group.

He added that leaders must possess qualities that would drive development, upgrade the standard of living of all and leading the way into a better future.

He also pointed out managing change as being crucial in the development of dynamic leadership skills, and leaders must figure out ways to manage changes to move forward.

Taking Sarawak as an example, he said the state was going for Industrial Revolution 4.0 ‘to change the way we think and how we live’.

“We have to look at the economic landscape that has changed in this region. The way you run your business is influenced by how you command your technology.

“Even professional lawyers and engineers need technology, which is very paramount when we want to move forward.”

Abang Johari also said Sarawak would have to focus on training people to use technology and opt for Internet of Things (IoT) to enhance productivity. He added that Sarawakians would also need to embrace e-commerce.

“The whole market landscape has changed. Facebook is said to have two billion citizens (users). Maybe you could advertise your products on Facebook, reaching out to two billion customers,” he said.

[Source: “Sarawak all set for 2030 developed state status, says CM” published by BorneoPost Online]